The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-09-29
THEATRE PANICS.
The Senseless Madness that Takes
Hold of the People-Some New York
RuSheS
From the Cincinnati Enquirer.

RusheS
From the Cincinnati Enquirer.
1t seems impossible, when you look around
at gallant men and amiable women, sitting
placdly at play, that in a moment, on the
utterance of one word, they can be turned
into dumb, driven cattle, senseless, suicidal
idiots But it is so. Any night the audito-
rum of a fashionable theatre may echo to
some unfortunate note of alarm. In an in
slant the gray haired banker, whose dignity
gave tone to his whole section, is walking
up the backs of women and over the heads
of children.
AT the Park Theatre one night the thea
tire that happily was destroyed by fire about
three hours before the time when it would
have been packed by New York's best people
to witness Miss Langtrys debut, some dude
entering up the unsafe and tortuous stair
way, threw his cigarette through the iron
grating of the steps. Some accumulated
rubbish began to smolder, and volume of
smoke poured into the auditorium. About
half the audience sitting there knew that
the stage had an enormous square opening
direct upon Twenty second street-a door not
ten feet from the level of the street. Every
soul in the house could have gone over
the low footlights, crossed the stage
and been in Twenty street in three
minutes time. They had all entered the
theatre by the crooked, narrow passage;
they all knew its miserable limits; they saw
the smoke coming in at that narrow pas
sage, and vet when some scared scamp near
the door jumped to his feet and screeche
Fire. they all with one accord stared to
the rear regardless of life or limb Luckily
that night a stalwart policeman, with the
lungs of a Stentor calmly said: There
amt no fire; it's been put out" He
grabbed the first lot of mad people
and bodily put 'em down into seats;
but for a few minutes there was the
widest kind of scrimmage. A welhknown
and dignifed citizen had sat in high-bred
ease two seats ahead of me during the per-
Torrance. As the panic struck him he rose,
mounted over the back of his seat, and
started to walk on the shoulders Of some
fashlonably attred ladies. II seemed an oc
casion for remonstrance, and had slight
but severe remark to make, and made it
with an opera glass; the old gentleman took
the kindly hint and concluded TO walk on
his legs in the aisle, but he had made fair
start 70 tramp to safety over his fellow
creatures
Another time in the Cosmopolitan Hall at
Forty-second street, the place was crowded
for Primrose a Thatcher's first night of
minstrelsy. There was low gallery run
ming round the buibliug. suDported on n
series of iron posts. During the evening enc
OF these poss slipped off the block ami
crashed through into a billiard AEON in the
basement; the gallery in thai particular
spot sagged creaked, and sons beam split
with alarming noise In moment all " as
excitement in the crowded gallery.
was sitting a few feet in front Of this spot,
and being fearful the people might begin
10 jump down on my devoted heal
1 pushed my escort, very important
and self-sfiicient gentleman, aud sug-
gested we get into two broad aisles beside
lum where, II people ju"iped, they would
not jump On US. | got n rsponse, aud
might as well have puSi e al the side OF
the HOUSE, he was ~ l.AniOvtblr. With
'leyel-frnnting oyelids" he confronted moth.
log aad looked at u adly. lie clasped a